In a typical sliding door installation, such as often found in the case of patio doors, the door is latched by a mechanism mounted in the locked face of the stile of a sliding door. In a single-point latch mechanism, a single hook, or other latching component engages a receiving (keeper) component disposed in the door jamb to latch the door and maintains the door in a latched state. While single-point latch mechanisms often provide satisfactory performance, the use of a single hook often fails to provide the security desired by a homeowner.
In response to the desire for increased security by homeowners, a variety of multi-point latches have been developed for use in sliding door installations. These multi-point mechanisms can be mounted in the locked face of the stile of the sliding door with multiple latching elements engaging a receiving structure mounted on a door jamb. These multi-point latches increase the security of the latch mechanisms by providing additional locking strength, thereby diminishing the likelihood of forced entry.
Another response to the desire for increased security by homeowners is to provide sliding doors with shoot bolts as the locking mechanism. While a latch mechanism that is mounted in the locked face of a sliding door can be used with a sliding door of any height, a shoot bolt mechanism must be adapted for use with a particular door height, as the respective face plates must be flush with the top and bottom surfaces of the sliding door. Accordingly, prior art shoot bolt solutions have typically involved a multiplicity of shoot bolts and lock assemblies of different fixed lengths that must be mixed and matched to fit doors of different standard heights. Further, non-standard door heights typically cannot be accommodated with such prior shoot bolt systems without resorting to custom made components.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the industry for a multi-point door latch assembly with shoot bolts that is simple to install and operate, easily adapted to a wide range of door heights with a limited number of standard components, and is designed to provide increased security against forced entry.